Cherokee Investment Partners is a private equity firm specializing in real asset investments across a diverse range of industries. With headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, Cherokee has invested over $3 billion in capital across hundreds of environmentally contaminated properties. Cherokee’s investment strategy focuses on the remediation and adaptive reuse of brownfield sites, landfills, former industrial facilities, and other challenging real estate. The firm works closely with local communities and governments to transform blighted properties into productive assets that bring environmental, social and economic benefits. Cherokee has expertise across multiple real asset sectors including healthcare, restaurants, logistics, renewable energy, mixed-use and more. Some of their notable investment partnerships include healthcare providers, restaurant chains, solar energy projects, and brownfield redevelopments.
Cherokee’s healthcare investment partnerships
In healthcare, Cherokee has partnered with leading regional health systems to develop new hospitals, medical office buildings, and other facilities. For example, in 2012 Cherokee formed a joint venture with Carolinas HealthCare System (now Atrium Health) to develop healthcare real estate in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. This included building the 125,000 square foot Carolinas Rehabilitation facility on a former brownfield site. In 2014, Cherokee partnered with WellStar Health System to develop new healthcare facilities in the Atlanta metro area. One project was a 98,000 square foot medical office building and ambulatory surgery center in Marietta, Georgia. Cherokee was responsible for securing the site, obtaining permits, managing development, and arranging financing. These partnerships enabled the healthcare providers to expand access to care while Cherokee applied its real estate expertise.
Cherokee’s restaurant industry investments
Cherokee has been an active investor in the restaurant industry. In 2015, a Cherokee fund acquired 155 restaurant properties across the southeastern U.S. that were leased to various franchisees of Burger King, Popeyes, and Wendy’s. Owning the real estate underneath major restaurant brands provided steady cash flows with upside potential from lease renewals and rent increases. In 2018, a Cherokee fund formed an investment platform with Arby’s Restaurant Group, acquiring and developing new Arby’s franchisee-owned restaurants. This $200 million partnership enabled Arby’s operators to expand their businesses while Cherokee assumed responsibility for real estate activities like site selection, acquisition, and development. These strategic partnerships allowed Cherokee to deploy its real estate expertise within the restaurant industry while franchisees focused on restaurant operations.
Cherokee’s solar energy investments
Cherokee has been an early mover in investing in solar energy generation projects. In 2008, the firm partnered with Turner Renewable Energy to acquire landfill sites and convert them into solar farms. This allowed otherwise unproductive landfill properties to generate clean renewable power. As of 2022, Cherokee has developed over 180 megawatts of solar energy capacity across over 100 sites in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and beyond. Cherokee also works with universities like Princeton to build solar farms on underutilized land, helping them meet campus sustainability goals. These solar energy investments create long-term recurring revenue streams for Cherokee while advancing the transition to renewable power.
Cherokee’s brownfield redevelopment projects
Redeveloping brownfield sites has been at the core of Cherokee’s investment strategy since the firm’s founding in 1988. Cherokee has invested over $1 billion remediating and repositioning environmentally impaired properties. For example, in the late 1990s, Cherokee transformed a former steel mill site in Romeoville, Illinois into a 1,625 acre mixed-use development now known as Romeoville Crossings. This project involved extensive environmental remediation before creating space for retail, medical, residential, recreational and other uses. Another major project was redeveloping a former landfill in Charlotte, North Carolina into the 1,000 acre RiverDistrict mixed-use community. By addressing contamination issues and transforming blighted sites, these projects brought economic, environmental and community benefits.
Cherokee Investment Partners is a leading private equity firm specializing in real asset investments, with particular expertise in healthcare, restaurants, renewable energy, and brownfield redevelopment. Their investment partnerships span acquiring contaminated properties, addressing environmental issues, and adaptively transforming these sites into productive economic assets.